Full Breakdown
Former San Francisco Immigration Judge Chloe Dillon Sues DOJ Over Alleged Retaliatory Firing
By Drooid · · How we work
Background & Context
Chloe Dillon, a Biden-appointed immigration judge who began serving in 2022 after a decade as a federal public defender in San Diego, worked in one of the nation’s busiest immigration courts. Court filings note that 14 San Francisco judges have been terminated since the 2024 inauguration, and the main immigration court in the city was shuttered earlier this month, with pending cases transferred to the Concord court.
Timeline
- 2022 – Dillon appointed to the San Francisco Immigration Court.
- Spring 2025 – Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Loi McCleskey allegedly directs judges to grant ICE motions to change venue.
- Summer 2025 – Dillon objects to ICE’s mass filing of boilerplate motions to re-calendar administratively closed cases, including those involving unaccompanied minors.
- August 2025 – ICE arrests a teenage asylum seeker after a hearing in Dillon’s courtroom; the teen is threatened with expedited removal.
- Two days later – Dillon receives an email terminating her employment, signed by the acting director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
- Later in August – Dillon files a federal whistleblower lawsuit against the DOJ, EOIR, and Attorney General Todd Blanche, alleging retaliation, First- and Fifth-Amendment violations, and breaches of the Whistleblower Protection Act.
- Earlier this month – The San Francisco immigration court officially closes; most cases are reassigned to Concord.
Why It Matters
The dispute underscores tension between immigration judges’ duty to ensure due process and ICE’s enforcement tactics. Dillon’s lawsuit argues that the firing creates a climate of fear that could compromise impartial adjudication, affecting thousands of asylum seekers whose cases hinge on proper judicial review. The closure of the San Francisco court concentrates caseloads elsewhere, raising concerns about access to counsel and the statutory right of unaccompanied minors to have their asylum applications first reviewed by asylum officers.
Verbatim Quotes
- “When you have judges who are in fear that they will be fired for the decisions that they’re making, it has completely undermined the basic principles of judicial adjudication,” — Chloe Dillon
- “For unaccompanied minors, they have a statutory right under the law to have their asylum case decided in the first instance by the asylum office,” — Chloe Dillon
- “I felt it was important for people like Judge Dillon to know that they had legal recourse and they had support,” — Melanie Proctor, Dillon’s attorney
What’s Next
The lawsuit seeks Dillon’s reinstatement, back pay, damages, and a judicial declaration that her termination violated federal law. The case remains pending, and the DOJ has indicated it will defend against the claims. The outcome could set precedent for whistleblower protections within the immigration judiciary and may influence future policy directives governing ICE’s interaction with immigration courts.